Iraq

Iraq in Between Iran and the United States
  • Podcast

    • Iraq in Between Iran and the United States

    Hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj are joined by MEI Distinguished Diplomatic Fellow Amb. (ret.) Robert S. Ford to examine what is at stake for Iraq in the Iran war. The only country to have been hit by both sides, Iraq is caught in the middle of a regional conflict, with the local Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) carrying out attacks on American interests and personnel — and the US responding. This escalation comes at a period of internal political transition in Iraq, which has been locked in negotiations to form a new government since the November 2025 elections. Ford, who served as Deputy and later Acting Ambassador in Baghdad from 2008 until 2010, unpacks how Iraq is navigating the current moment, how the Kurdistan region fits into this equation, and what this all means for the future of US-Iraqi relations.

    April 9, 2026

    Alistair Taylor, Matthew Czekaj

    Iraq’s oil paralysis: A self-inflicted wound and a gift to Tehran
    Photo by Ismael Adnan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
  • Commentary

    • Iraq’s oil paralysis: A self-inflicted wound and a gift to Tehran

    With the Strait of Hormuz closed and oil production from Iraq’s south in free fall, Baghdad’s failure to maximize the Iraq-Turkey Pipeline is no longer a policy dispute. It is a national emergency.

    March 16, 2026

    Yerevan Saeed

    The Transatlantic Alliance Will Survive Just Fine
  • Commentary

    • The Transatlantic Alliance Will Survive Just Fine

    Media and politicians on both sides of the Atlantic are hyping the idea that President Trump’s attempt to gain sovereign control of Greenland has caused unprecedented and irreparable damage to the over 75 year-old Transatlantic Alliance.  This “analysis” stems from multiple sources.  On both sides of the ocean, there are those who pounce on any deviation from the norm by Trump as evidence the world as we know it is ending. And in Europe, there is the human but unattractive reaction of weak, dependent states against their one powerful ally when it rejects Europe’s preferred script. Much of the US media criticism is summarized by the concept that our other NATO allies can never again “trust” the US.

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    Building Moderate Syrian Rebel Forces: Challenges and Prospects
    Middle East Institute

    Building Moderate Syrian Rebel Forces: Challenges and Prospects

    December 12 – January 1, 1970, December 12 - 12:00 PM – 12:00 AM
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    Defeating the Islamic State Militarily is Only Half the Battle
  • Analysis

    • Defeating the Islamic State Militarily is Only Half the Battle

    In his speech on September 10 President Obama characterized the Islamic State (ISIS) as a terrorist group.[1] There were clear political benefits to using this label, not the least of which was to facilitate the formation of a broad-based military coalition against the organization.

    Testimony: US Strategy To Defeat ISIS
  • Analysis

    • Testimony: US Strategy To Defeat ISIS

    The following is the written testimony prepared and delivered by Amb (ret) Robert S. Ford for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing held on September 17, 2014. Click here to watch video of the full hearing (Amb. Ford’s testimony begins at the 3 hours and 26 minutes mark).

    Iran’s Approach to Extreme Sunni Militants
  • Analysis

    • Iran’s Approach to Extreme Sunni Militants

    This article was first published by The National Interest.

    The conventional wisdom in Washington is that Tehran regards Sunni-jihadist movements as ideologically incompatible rivals. This is not surprising, as the bulk of Sunni-jihadist literature makes it clear that Shia-majority Iran is considered to be the embodiment of apostasy. To most Sunni jihadists, including those from ISIS, Iran is an archenemy surpassing both Israel and the United States.

    The New Iraqi Prime Minister: A Change in Style or Substance?
    Middle East Institute
  • Analysis

    • The New Iraqi Prime Minister: A Change in Style or Substance?

    During his first week in office, Iraq’s new prime minister, Haydar al-Abbadi, has made a number of significant announcements, ranging from highly symbolic moves to more wide-ranging initiatives. Signs of divergence between Abbadi and his predecessor, Nuri al-Maliki, are clearly visible.

    September 17, 2014

    Reidar Visser

    A Coalition of Uncertainty
  • Analysis

    • A Coalition of Uncertainty

    One way to grasp the immense difficulty facing President Obama as he tries to forge an effective international coalition to oppose the Islamic State is to examine the difference between this effort and the last time the United States led a diverse group of countries to take on a conflict in the Middle East: Operation Desert Storm, in 1991.

    September 15, 2014

    Thomas W. Lippman

    ISIS strategy check: Rule out a U.S. war
  • Analysis

    • ISIS strategy check: Rule out a U.S. war

    This op-ed was first published in the New York Daily News.

    The United States might not have had a strategy for battling ISIS last week, but it does now. The NATO summit in Wales produced one. It reflects President Obama’s instincts and his ability to corral fractious allies.

    It also says nothing about the use of force by the United States.

    September 8, 2014

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